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A review by katykelly
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
5.0
My son's first trip through the wardrobe...
I first read Narnia aged 8 when the BBC adapted The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, almost the same age my son is now. I remember being drawn into a world where you could walk into another land through a wardrobe, where fauns exist - one of the first novels I ever read solo, and almost definitely my first containing fantasy. The feelings I had for the book have stayed with my for thirty years, and though I've reread, for study and now with my son, I can still recall how I felt when first walking through that wardrobe in "Spare Oom".
The meaning Lewis imbibed his story with passed me by completely as an 8-year-old of course, though of course I learned of the Christian message subsequently, taking some of the sheen from my memories of the story and characters.
The story of the four evacuees sent to the country and discovering a land accessible through a wardrobe is one of the world's most well-known, the hidden story of the Jesus-Aslan, his sacrifice and rising again to battle the White Witch-Devil just as famous.
I took note as we went along of all the parallels, the roles each child/character played in the hidden story, but also how my son reacted to the story, surely the most important thing.
He seemed taken with the book from the first chapter, quite absorbed as Lucy went through the wardrobe for the first time, if confused for a while, and he actively disliked Edmund, his teasing and lies. I was surprised at how short the book really is and how fast the plot moves from introduction of the children, to escape and Aslan, Stone Table and showdown.
Every chapter end had my boy moaning for 'more', he was enchanted. I watched his face as a certain horrific event turns out well, as certain royals are crowned. He was beaming. It's the way the book SHOULD be read. I'm not going to tell him otherwise. It can wait.
As an adult, it seems very clear, just what Lewis means, but for my nearly 8-year-old, he now sees magic in a wardrobe, knows what centaurs and fauns are, has had a new imaginative pathway opened up.
I've already ordered a copy of the BBC series for us to watch, and we have the other 6 books should he express an interest in journeying to Narnia again.
I found we didn't need to talk about the language too often, a few terms that he wasn't familiar with, slang terms, but I did have trouble with the last few pages as the Kings and Queens see the lamppost while hunting, their language is both awkward to read aloud and needs a full translation for a generation completely unfamiliar with courtly language.
A book children SHOULD read, it will impact them twice in their lives - once as a fantasy that opens their eyes to imagination, and once again later, as they look back and learn that authors may not mean what they thought.
I first read Narnia aged 8 when the BBC adapted The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, almost the same age my son is now. I remember being drawn into a world where you could walk into another land through a wardrobe, where fauns exist - one of the first novels I ever read solo, and almost definitely my first containing fantasy. The feelings I had for the book have stayed with my for thirty years, and though I've reread, for study and now with my son, I can still recall how I felt when first walking through that wardrobe in "Spare Oom".
The meaning Lewis imbibed his story with passed me by completely as an 8-year-old of course, though of course I learned of the Christian message subsequently, taking some of the sheen from my memories of the story and characters.
The story of the four evacuees sent to the country and discovering a land accessible through a wardrobe is one of the world's most well-known, the hidden story of the Jesus-Aslan, his sacrifice and rising again to battle the White Witch-Devil just as famous.
I took note as we went along of all the parallels, the roles each child/character played in the hidden story, but also how my son reacted to the story, surely the most important thing.
He seemed taken with the book from the first chapter, quite absorbed as Lucy went through the wardrobe for the first time, if confused for a while, and he actively disliked Edmund, his teasing and lies. I was surprised at how short the book really is and how fast the plot moves from introduction of the children, to escape and Aslan, Stone Table and showdown.
Every chapter end had my boy moaning for 'more', he was enchanted. I watched his face as a certain horrific event turns out well, as certain royals are crowned. He was beaming. It's the way the book SHOULD be read. I'm not going to tell him otherwise. It can wait.
As an adult, it seems very clear, just what Lewis means, but for my nearly 8-year-old, he now sees magic in a wardrobe, knows what centaurs and fauns are, has had a new imaginative pathway opened up.
I've already ordered a copy of the BBC series for us to watch, and we have the other 6 books should he express an interest in journeying to Narnia again.
I found we didn't need to talk about the language too often, a few terms that he wasn't familiar with, slang terms, but I did have trouble with the last few pages as the Kings and Queens see the lamppost while hunting, their language is both awkward to read aloud and needs a full translation for a generation completely unfamiliar with courtly language.
A book children SHOULD read, it will impact them twice in their lives - once as a fantasy that opens their eyes to imagination, and once again later, as they look back and learn that authors may not mean what they thought.